Photo by Cameron Carlson
The last time Devils Lake played Kindred, the Firebirds lost by 30.
Devils Lake was winless at the time.
“I’m not gonna make an excuse about it, but we didn’t come out ready,” Devils Lake quarterback Mason Palmer said. “I feel like we’re a way better team now, more defensively sound, more offensively sound.”
That game was all the way back in August. The Firebirds were 0-1.
Since then, they’ve won eight out of nine games — the most in a football season for Devils Lake since 2010. The lone loss was a mere six-point defeat to No. 1 Minot North. They dismantled Grand Forks Central to get their first playoff win since 2017, and now they head back to Kindred with a chance to get to the Fargodome.
“I’m extremely proud of it,” Devils Lake head coach Todd Lambrecht said. “They work hard, and they do a lot of things together. ‘We’ is great than ‘me.’ … We coach, we try and put them in the best positions possible that we think is good for them. But they’ve gotta go out and play. And they’re playing with each other and for each other. It’s great to see.”
Despite some key pieces graduating this spring, like Oliver Wirth and Brody Forsberg, the Firebirds have vastly improved from last year’s 5-5 campaign. They’ve turned into an offensive juggernaut feared around the state.
A big part of that is Palmer and running back Bryar Exner having huge senior years. Both were stars on last year’s team, too, but each missed three games with an injury. They’ve only gotten bigger, stronger and more consistent, while managing to stay healthy.
In 10 games, Palmer has thrown for more than 2,400 yards. That’s over 1,000 more than last year, when he was still an all-state second team selection.
And a major catalyst in Palmer’s production has been his twin brother.
Max Palmer got some reps at wide receiver last year. But he was hardly a primary option.
While Mason leads the AA West in passing yards, Max has gone on to lead the region in receiving yards.
“I knew last year, he was low-key sneaky good,” Mason said. “He could get open, he just wasn’t as big or as fast as he is this year. He grew a lot this summer. So he’s really improved since last year. I knew there was gonna be big things for him.”
Max had a touchdown in the Firebirds’ 42-7 slaughtering of Central last Friday. It was his 10th of the season. He’s collected 585 receiving yards — all from his twin brother.
“We’ve been doing this since we were little. So it’s just like muscle memory now,” Mason said. “Whenever I’m scrambling around running, I just know where my brother’s gonna be. I can look down the field and I know where he’s gonna go. Because we’re just — I don’t know — interlinked.”
Max leads a deep receiver group that’s really stepped up this year. Will Heilman and Weston Nelson have each collected more than 400 receiving yards. Guys like Coby Dronen Levitt and Kade Fee have chipped in with big contributions, too.
“I expect a lot out of our four wide receivers,” Lambrecht said. “And it’s one of those things to where it’s sharing the wealth. Mason just doesn’t always throw to Max. He throws to everybody. Max just has a tenacity of getting open and getting to those spots, and Mason does a good job seeing him as long as he has time to do so.”
Exner’s dominance, supported by an O-line that’s done a tenacious job of creating holes all season, rounds out Devils Lake’s lethal offense.
Exner showed bursts of explosiveness last year. He rushed for over 500 yards in the seven games he played. But in his senior year, at full health, with a strong team around him, he’s risen to another level this fall. Exner has more than doubled last year’s rushing total with over 1,300 yards on the ground.
“This is a really fun experience,” Exner said. “It’s probably the best thing in my life. I’m having fun. I’m having a blast out here. It’s great.”
The Firebirds’ offense just has so many ways to beat an opponent. They lean on Exner at times, but they’re also dynamic in the passing game, leaving teams unable to focus on one or the other.
To add another wrinkle into an opponent’s defensive plans, Exner has also become increasingly comfortable getting open for short passes. He then adds yards after the catch with physicality and brute force.
“Now linebackers are gonna come with me when I go out, so it helps out the offense a lot,” Exner said.
On the defensive side, Devils Lake’s season hasn’t been as smooth. The Firebirds are prone to giving up the big play. Certain wins were a little close for comfort: They beat Wahpeton, Dickinson and Watford City each by only one touchdown.
Their defense is led by Luke Wasness, who has more than 70 tackles. Fee entered last Friday with 66, while Easton Encinas entered with 53.
In the biggest game of the season, the Firebirds had their best defensive game yet. Their seven points allowed against Central was their fewest in a game this year.
“Flying to the ball; guys doing their jobs, doing what they’re supposed to do,” Lambrecht said. “Tackle ‘em how they’re supposed to tackle ‘em. And more than just one person tackling ‘em; it’s four or five guys at a time.”
It’s taken a lot for Devils Lake to get to this point. Before last year, the Firebirds hadn’t had a winning regular season since 2017. Even last year, they technically finished at .500 with their first-round playoff loss to Minot North.
The kids on this team are reaping the rewards of years of hard work and perseverance.
“It’s really awesome,” Palmer said. “I’ve played with a lot of my senior buddies for a long time now. We’ve developed a connection. We’ve learned to trust each other. And I really can’t thank my teammates enough for this amazing season so far.”
The bond extends through the loaded senior class, all the way down to the younger guys in the locker room.
“We’re like a family,” Fee said. “Everyone’s there for each other no matter what. The coaches push us every day. They make us better every day. And some people may not play, but they’re on the scout team. They’re pushing us every day to make us better in it. It starts with the bottom man all the way up to the top man. It’s all the way through. Every single man on the team is as important as the other.”
It’ll be power on power in Friday’s semifinal. Kindred averages 39.7 points per game, including a 42-point performance against Devils Lake on Aug. 29. The Vikings have two players who’ve garnered Division-I FBS interest, Brooks Bakko and Luke Starcevic. Bakko has collected 729 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns this season.
Lambrecht said the Firebirds need to be more disciplined than they were in their 42-12 loss.
“We didn’t bring our best right away,” Exner said. “It was the first game; we played really down, really bad. But we’ve gotta turn it around. We’ve gotta forget about that game and pretend it’s the first game of our season. Bring it out and play as hard as we can.”
Kindred is 10-0 in its first season at the AA level, despite coming from a town of under 1,000 people. The Vikings lost in the Division A championship game last year. They’re 56-3 in their last five seasons combined.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Friday in Kindred.
“We just need to scout, and we’ll step it up,” Fee said. “Everyone’s prepared, and we’ve been playing great football, so if we keep this momentum into the next week, I think we’ll be just fine.”
